BCC: UK trade deficit worsens despite December improvement

UK trade deficit in goods and services was £2.7 billion in December 2015, a narrowing of £1.3 billion from November 2015.

The narrowing of the December deficit was mainly the result of a fall in goods imports

Commenting on the UK trade figures for December 2015, published today by the ONS, David Kern, BCC Chief Economist, said:

“Despite an improvement in the UK’s trade deficit in December, it still worsened in 2015 as a whole compared with 2014.

“While the deficit in goods worsened over the long term, there has been a gradual improvement in our surplus in services. Much more needs to be done to improve our trading position, with particular emphasis on helping small businesses to start exporting, as well as helping firms to break into new export markets.”